Hydrogen Peroxide, is it safe to use around Tarantulas?

[tim smithe]

Hi all,

New to the forums, just wanted to ask something regarding Hydrogen Peroxide, I have a evaporator air cooler for the room (as its been hot lately in the UK), okay this unit I have had for a while, and generally needed the humidity to keep up in the room, only thing is can I add hydrogen peroxide to the water which is then circulated around the room? will this be safe for the T's I have? its not going to affect them in any way or form will it, I just don't want to risk anything. The reason I need to use this is so that the water can be free from mould etc, that way I got a good source of air and humidity in the room.

Thanks

 

[Theneil]

My buest guess is that it would be fine. i belive most H2O2 that you can buy at a walmart or whatever is only like 3-5% concentration and that it breaks down into water and oxygen pretty rapidly.

i'm sure that somebody with more medical or science background, such as @boina, will be able to either confirm or correct me.

 

[MintyWood826]

My guess is that it would only harm your T's if you poured it directly into the enclosures, not in the air like that. Take that with a grain of salt though.

Edit: Google says that H2O2 is unstable and breaks down into water and oxygen. Sunlight speeds up the decomposition, so in the air mixed with water it should be safe. I think.

 

[boina]

This makes no sense at all. Are you going to use H2O2 in a fogger? In that case it's highly dangerous to your tarantulas - and to you. No one should be in an area that is treated with a H2O2 fogger. It's used for disinfection in hospitals sometimes - and everyone has to leave any area where it is used. It kills bacteria and small insects rather effectively... Some rather idiotic companies seem to recommend it to kill bacteria and mold in the air - in lower concentrations than the hospital stuff I assume since you are supposed to be in the room with it?

Anyway, if you have hydrogen peroxide at high enough concentrations that it will be effective against mold it will certainly harm your tarantulas. This is a highly reactive compound and I'd rather not imagine what it will do to a tarantulas sensitive book lungs. As I said, it kills small insects for sure.

 

[Theneil]

This makes no sense at all. Are you going to use H2O2 in a fogger? In that case it's highly dangerous to your tarantulas - and to you. No one should be in an area that is treated with a H2O2 fogger. It's used for disinfection in hospitals sometimes - and everyone has to leave any area where it is used. It kills bacteria and small insects rather effectively... Some rather idiotic companies seem to recommend it to kill bacteria and mold in the air - in lower concentrations than the hospital stuff I assume since you are supposed to be in the room with it?

Anyway, if you have hydrogen peroxide at high enough concentrations that it will be effective against mold it will certainly harm your tarantulas. This is a highly reactive compound and I'd rather not imagine what it will do to a tarantulas sensitive book lungs. As I said, it kills small insects for sure.

And this is why i tag the smart person...

 

[boina]

smart person...

Er - what? Me, smart?

 

[Theneil]

Er - what? Me, smart?

i'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Personally, being at your place, I would directly use Novichok agent. I've heard that lately is 'big' and easily available in the UK, plus, doing so, if things turns into a despicable situation, I can always blame - in full 'Tabloid' support - those exotic Vodka drinking people living in the East

Tabloid: "Please tell us, Sir Chris LXXIX, how this happened in the first place?"

Me (being a Brit): "Well, I've ordered that apparently awesome product from an 'off-eBay' Moscow based vendor which guaranteed me the best results for both my T's & Garden. The instructions were in Cyrillic, ok, but shouldn't everyone and everything being in English since old good Britannia ruled every kind of wave and whales? I'm alive for a miracle!"

Tabloid: "Enough! Sir Chris LXXIX risked his life, while purchasing in good faith like online buyers always are! Outrageous, by Jove!"
<-- old Victorian era nobleman

Doing this = an ocean of GBP £ and celebrity

ih ih ih jok

 

[Mich]

This is a very late follow up of the original post, but my question is:
I bought succulents from a nursery for our tarantula enclosures and realised they could have been sprayed with insecticide, so I called and they confirmed.
So far I have sprayed them with a dish soap and water mixture and spray-rinsed it with clean water.
I asked on FB, and some said he used hydrogen peroxide.
Is this effective?
Is it harmful?
I suppose it needs to be rinsed afterwards?
Thr little nooks and crannies, how do I get the bad stuff out of there?

 

[Theneil]

This is a very late follow up of the original post, but my question is:
I bought succulents from a nursery for our tarantula enclosures and realised they could have been sprayed with insecticide, so I called and they confirmed.
So far I have sprayed them with a dish soap and water mixture and spray-rinsed it with clean water.
I asked on FB, and some said he used hydrogen peroxide.
Is this effective?
Is it harmful?
I suppose it needs to be rinsed afterwards?
Thr little nooks and crannies, how do I get the bad stuff out of there?

My understanding is that Hydrogen peroxide very quickly degrades into water and oxygen. So if you just have the 2 or 3% solution that you get from walmart ot wherever, i think simply letting it dry would peobaly be sufficient, but no harm in a rinse as well so long as it wont harm the plant.

PS i no NOTHING about plants, just speaking that i don’t thinknit eould be a big concern for the spider as long as it isn’t in close proximity before the H2O2 is either dried off or rinsed off.

 

[sasker]

I bought succulents from a nursery for our tarantula enclosures

I suggest you don't add life plants to your terrarium, unless you are absolutely certain that zero pesticides have been used (for example, you have broken off a piece of an old plant that has been forever in someone's house). Insecticides work in very small doses. For example, petting a cat that has been treated against fleas prior to handling a prey item would be enough to poison a tarantula. No matter how much you have cleaned the plant, I doubt you will be able to remove enough residue for it to be safe. So don't take the risk, I'd say.

What is more, my limited experience with succulents taught me that they require at least a decent amount of light, so I don't think it will work with a terrarium of an animal that needs to be kept fairly dark and away from sunlight.

 

[starlight_kitsune]

I bought succulents from a nursery for our tarantula enclosures and realised they could have been sprayed with insecticide, so I called and they confirmed.
So far I have sprayed them with a dish soap and water mixture and spray-rinsed it with clean water.

Succulents are my other obsession. I currently have ~50 plants around my home in just succulent varieties. What kind of succulents are we talking about? Some hold onto insecticides inside and on their roots for YEARS. Cleaning the exterior may not be enough.


Also most require full sun or at least 4-6 hours a day minimum, most likely they won't get enough light in a tarantula enclosure. There are a select few that do okay inside of enclosures with minimal light. I have a perfectly content snake plant for example in with my Avicularia sp. but they also thrive on neglect so....

 

[l4nsky]

Some hold onto insecticides inside and on their roots for YEARS. Cleaning the exterior may not be enough.

That's interesting as I was under the impression that a lot of pesticides/herbicides break down over a few months. Do you happen to have any literature for my continued education?

 

[starlight_kitsune]

That's interesting as I was under the impression that a lot of pesticides/herbicides break down over a few months. Do you happen to have any literature for my continued education?

I should, it'll likely take me a minute to find it, but once I find it I'll reply again. (Or if I find literature saying I'm wrong. Either way I'll return)

Merging these replies because I didn't realize I was double posting.

-----------
@l4nsky

Okay so I was partially/mostly wrong. Most insecticides do not last long. It's specifically Neonicotinoids/systemic insecticides which are absorbed by plants and as a result potentially have a longer half life of between 28-1200 days. I'm still looking for the thing I'd read before that said cactuses and other "fleshier" succulents hold onto it for years (which would be the upper range for those insecticides.)

Case Study: Neonicotinoids

 

[starlight_kitsune]

edited to merge my two replies since I double posted. Oops.